Procuring and installing a system from Cutter

One of the best ways of satisfying yourself that an alternative desktop system will work for you is to see it working for others. At Cutter we are fortunate to have a range of happy and satisfied customers who are willing to provide reference sites for you to see the technology in action. You don't have to take our word for it, we can provide working demonstrations of the technology deployed in the real world, without smoke or mirrors.

We'd prefer that our customers get what they want, so when we specify a system we take time to make sure it's right for the job. The majority of software applications are problem-free but some are fussy about running on a server or they may need specific operating system features, so the workload needs to be reviewed in advance to eliminate surprises. It's also important to be realistic about the amount of server hardware and network resources needed to deliver good performance. Our technical staff have extensive experience of working with our customers to ensure that the system we deliver meets their needs.

We try to ensure that expectations are realistic. There are many benefits in moving to centralised servers with alternative desktop devices but inevitably the users will notice some differences. In our experience the majority of users react positively but of course there is always the risk of an exception and it makes sense to plan for that in advance. You might want to prepare the way with a 'proof of concept' or pilot deployment first, or it might make sense for you to choose a big-bang deployment. Either way we are happy to work with you and provide access to our own experience and that of others of our customers.

Most customer requirements fit some well-established patterns and we have template designs for those kinds of systems to ensure repeatability and minimum cost. When you contact us, we start by reviewing your requirements and see which type of system will fit your needs. Since the systems are built from well-understood and simple components we can avoid more costly custom designs in all but the most unusual of circumstances.

If you contact us we will usually start by discussing your requirements to see if there is anything unusual or demanding and helping you to work out what is likely to be right for you. If you want to see a similar system in operation, we will arrange a site visit for you, or put you in direct contact with one of our existing customers. Following that, a costed proposal will be drawn up for the initial deployment.

On acceptance of the proposal and receipt of an order, we pre-configure your systems at our build centre before shipping the equipment to your site with only minimal on-site configuration required. Since we typically provide remote maintenance and basic systems management, some form of remote network access is usually considered a mandatory provision (if this is difficult or impossible then we'd discuss the options with you before hand). With the servers installed and running we can then finalise configuration and over the first few months of operation it's usual that minor 'tweaking' will also be carried out to optimise the various features.

Most systems are rarely touched after initial configuration and early tuning. We do however usually monitor the health of the systems using our remote management software and by agreement will either provide hands-on management or a warning-level service to your own systems administrators as required. Naturally you are free to decline this aspect of the service and take full responsibility for your own systems management if you wish, calling on us only as you need to.

We take the view that happy and satisfied customers are the best advertisement we can have and we strive hard to make that happen.

To find out more, contact us and we will talk through the options with you.